What do you need to know about what’s going on pop culture? Less than other sites would lead you to believe. Here’s the news as quick as we can manage it. Enjoy.

Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) has come on board to write and produce a feature film version of the 60s series, The Champions, with Guillermo “Can’t Possibly Be Human” Del Toro. I had no idea what the series was, so I offer this up as a snippet. British sci-fi 60s goodness:

Pushing Daisies is on the block. ABC is trying to figure out whether or not to order more episodes beyond the thirteen for this season that have wrapped. Unless something beyond the episodes I’ve seen has gone terribly awry, then refusing to make more of this series is a travesty. Source: Hollywood Reporter.

Thor is getting an animated series–his first toplining one–which will premiere in 2010. Twenty-six episodes have already been ordered. Source: Hollywood Reporter.

Apparently Warner Brothers is unveiling The Inspirations of Oz Fine Art Collection at the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair at Ocean Drive Magazine’s Paint the Town Green Presents: The Emerald City event on December 5, 2008. It’s reinterps of Oz through the works of various artists, including the folks at Gentle Giant, Gris Grimly and (pictured) Alex Ross. All this because the 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz (the movie, anyway) is next year. It will be on public display from December 9th through the 23rd. There’s going to be an auction of some pieces of the stuff next October to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Rumors that Ross had one of his usual models get made up as a green version of Margaret Hamilton in order to get that painting just right are just that: rumors.

XXX: The Return of Xander Cage might be scribed by Michael Ferris and John Brancato if talks go well. They’re the guys who worked on Terminator Salvation. Source: Variety.

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Unfortunately, Pushing Daisies has been killed. Along with 2 other great ABC shows – ‘Dirty Sexy Money’ and ‘Eli Stone’. Out of those 3 I am okay with the loss of DSM – while it is a treat to see Peter Krause work (he is an amazing actor), DSM didn’t bring anything new to TV. Eli and Daisies on the other hand were new, fresh, and probably too good for broadcast TV.

So, once again, TV kills off the new and unique probably only to replace it with another reality series.